The author and his colleague, Deborah Polin, traveled around the United States to get a first-hand look at how teachers are developing successful Web 2.0 activities for their classrooms. With funding from Intel, they interviewed 39 educators in 22 schools throughout the country about how they employed these tools in their classrooms in innovative ways and what helped improve student learning. They found that the teachers who have had the best luck with Web 2.0 are using the tools to create ongoing conversations among students and "always on" learning communities. They also learned that, as with any technology, careful instructional planning is of paramount importance. Specifically, they identified three elements that have clearly shaped how these teachers used Web 2.0 to create sustained, meaningful communication among their students: (1) Instituting daily practice; (2) Carefully considering the audience; and (3) Teaching and enforcing appropriate behavior. This article discusses each of these three elements for Web 2.0 success.

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